


Good Grief

by GoodVib3



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-07-29 10:03:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7680169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoodVib3/pseuds/GoodVib3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>That title is one of the reasons he was working so hard to be in the field beside Barry. Not for the fame, not for the action figures, or caffeinated drinks, or other memorabilia.<br/>Cisco needed closure that his abilities weren’t something to be afraid of, and maybe being labeled a hero could give him that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Good Grief

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first actual contribution to the Flash fandom so!! Wow!!! This is something that I wrote most of back in May and never got around to posting, just a little 'what if Cisco's been working on his hero persona for a little while' kind of thing. Hope you enjoy!!!

“No.”

“I’m just _saying_ , it’ll be a good idea to have-”

“Cisco, _no_.” Barry began to walk away out of the workshop as though that ended the conversation, but Cisco was nothing if not persistent.

He followed him, holding the gloves in his hands and pushing them forward to catch his friend’s attention as they walked, but Barry only spared them a glance before continuing down the hall. “You’re not going into the field with me.”

“Come on, just listen! I talked to Hartley and he helped me create these gloves that would make it easier to control my blasts and produce them on command!” Cisco trailed after him before he set the gloves down on his desk with a huff. “I’ve been training after hours here with them, in that room we set up for Linda?"

"Hell, I’ve even worked on sparring and hand-to-hand combat for self-defence since Cold snatched me up last year.”

They both stopped in the middle of the cortex, staring at each other as if waiting for the other to give up on the argument.

Cisco watched Barry pinch the bridge of his nose to calm his nerves before looking to Caitlin, hoping for some support. Instead, she threw her hands up as though it were something for the two of them to sort out themselves before disappearing back into her med bay. At least she wasn’t against him in this; he probably would’ve just stomped off if both of his best friends didn’t want him to be a hero.

And really, why would it be so bad for him to be a hero? That title is one of the reasons he was working so hard to be in the field beside Barry. Not for the fame, not for the action figures, or caffeinated drinks, or other memorabilia.

Cisco needed closure that his abilities weren’t something to be afraid of, and maybe being labeled a hero could give him that.

He needed to know that his offensive powers couldn’t just be used to hurt people like Reverb had used them, that he could be a savior for people instead of a god. Being a god held too much power; it would be so easy to succumb to the dark side, to take delight in the fact that he could do whatever he wanted.

Hell, Team Flash saw what the god complex did to Clyde Mardon.

Barry, on the other hand, fought for justice and the preservation of humanity. He fought to save the citizens of Central City. He should know more than anyone how good it felt to save people. “Dude, why do you think it’s such a bad idea? I think I’m ready!”

Barry heaved a sigh and ran a hand over his face, pausing to gather his response. “It’s not that you aren’t ready, but you could get really hurt.” Just as Cisco opened his mouth to argue, Barry held a hand up before continuing, “You can’t heal in the way that I do; it’s more dangerous for you to be fighting out there.”

“Are you serious? I’ve gotten my ass handed to me on multiple occasions already! I think I can take it now that I actually know how to fight back.” It was just getting annoying at this point. Cisco knew that Barry felt the need to protect everyone around him, but he was acting as if Cisco would be totally helpless out there. “Don’t get me wrong, I love being the techie, but I could do so much more!”

If it hadn’t been obvious to Barry already, it was now. Cisco wasn’t letting up. Barry dropped into a chair and looked up at his friend with an expression that told him he hadn’t changed his mind. “Cisco, you’re not going out in the field with me,” he said with a tone of finality.

“Oh, you wanna be like that? Alright, fine.” Cisco tipped his chin up and turned on his heel, heading  back to his workshop. If he looked like a bratty teen stomping away, he didn’t care. Barry didn’t get to act like he was a parent who had to shelter and protect him.

He’d get his chance, he just knew it.

 

* * *

 

Turns out, it didn’t take too long.

Magenta, as Cisco had named her after the ripples that shot from her hands after an attack, was one slippery eel. A meta who controlled magnetic waves? Yikes. A meta who could use that power to fly out of reach? Yikes to the power of a billion. The Flash’s first encounter with her ended in unnecessary destruction before she put his comms on the fritz and shot a blast that knocked Barry out before she flew away.

Cisco’s metahuman alert app sent him a ping the next week, just before the computer in the cortex received a notification of a bank robbery. He and Barry shared a look, and soon they were arguing again as Cisco changed into his Vibe suit. “I’m going. You can’t talk me out of it.”

Barry had already sped into his own suit, but with the dilemma of which alert to respond to first, he couldn’t leave just yet. “Cisco, you don’t know what you’re up against when it comes to Magenta; She had _me_ down in fifteen minutes flat!” His arms crossed over his chest as he watched Cisco put his goggles on, shaking his thoughts of the other’s appearance out of his head so he could focus. “It’s too risky for you to go up against her -- especially when you’ve never fought out there.”

“And when am I going to be ready? When am I going to be _100% sure_ that I won’t get hurt, Barry?” Cisco tugged on the gloves he and Hartley had made, his fingers flexing in the leather as he faced Barry, chin up in reminiscence of the other day.

“I never will be, but I can’t let that hold me back. I need to know that I can fight people like her, and right now, my powers are better suited against hers than yours are. Last I checked, you can’t run on air, and she can knock you out before you can even get close enough to hit her!”

A tense pause passed between the two of them before it was swiftly broken by Cisco’s phone and computer beeping again, reminding them of the very present dangers in two different parts of the city.

They couldn’t wait around and argue while people were in trouble. He sped over to Cisco’s computer to look at the locations. “I’ll take you to where Magenta hit and leave, but I’m going there as your backup as soon as I stop this robbery and get them to CCPD, got it?”

“Deal.”

 

* * *

 

An hour later, Magenta was locked away in a cell, Cisco was sitting in Caitlin’s med bay, and Barry paced back and forth beside the bed.

If he was being honest, Cisco was only half listening to Barry’s rambling; He’d tuned out and began prodding at the gauze wrapped around his bicep, catching his reflection in the glass door and wincing at the sight of his bruised cheek.

The sound seemed to stop Barry in his tracks, at Cisco’s bedside in a second as his wide eyes looked him over. “Oh man, I came in and just started telling you how I knew you’d get hurt, I didn’t actually check on you.”

Before Cisco could even respond, his friend’s mouth was running like a motor again, brows knitted together in concern. “Are you okay? I could get some painkillers from Cait, or an extra pillow-- Do you want some water? I could get you some water. Maybe I could try that speed force magical healing thing I did with Jesse that one time? Kind of like kissing your injuries better.”

“Not that I’m going to kiss you!” He amended as soon as Cisco’s mouth opened, earning a pout in response. “I mean, not that you’re _not_ kissable. I just, uh, meant it _metaphorically._ Yeah, because you’re hurt and all.”

“Barry?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I cash in on that kiss anyway?” Cisco grinned, reaching forward and curling his fingers into the front of Barry’s STAR Labs sweater.


End file.
